Perhaps the greatest heresy of twentieth-century American religion was to make faith into a purely personal matter and a private affair, which went nicely with the rise of the consumer society. With the advent of television preachers, faith was turned into an occasion for conspicuous consumption and effective fund-raising. Faith became merely another commodity: “I have it, and you don’t.” Or worse, “Here’s how you can get it. Our operators are standing by.”…..But in the Bible, faith is not something you possess but rather something you practice. You have to put it into action or it doesn’t mean anything. Faith changes things. It’s the energy of transformation, both for individuals and for a society.
Jim Wallis
(from Faith Works)
